Chapter 1: Wedding Crashers and Baby Bumps
1587 Words
" Soon to be wed is the youngest Miss Mitchell, marrying none other than the firstborn of the well-to-do Harrison family! Talk about luck personified!"
"Totally! How could the gap between the elder and younger Miss Mitchell be so immeasurable? Despite being the legitimate daughter and outshining her sister in beauty, the elder one squandered her clout. She's now being publicly shamed as a fallen woman - dreadfully scandalous. "
"That's what happens when you have a fling and find yourself pregnant with a gigolo's baby. Jilted by the Caldwell family's heir, she now bears the distinction of being the City-wide laughingstock. Madam Mitchell has imprisoned her at home, banning her from the younger Miss's wedding. "
Scarlett Mitchell was seated before her dresser, leisurely combing her long, dark hair that fell in abundance to her waist as the maid's condescending whispers permeating through the door seeped into her ears.
The mirror displayed a youthful beauty. Her fresh and glowing skin accentuated her slender, ovoid face. Clarity and innocence oozed from her eyes, which lied below sharply curved eyebrows and lashes.
A pointed nose atop luscious, cherry lips. A soft smile adorned her lips, illuminating her features brightly.
Most incredibly, she'd reincarnated. Here she was, a 20-year-old version of herself, on the very day of Celeste Mitchell's wedding!
Previously lost in her childhood and found only at the age of 15, she was the legitimate daughter of the Mitchell family.
Yet during her disappearance, her parents longed for her and replaced her with someone who, in this life, became her sister - Celeste Mitchell!
Celeste Mitchell mesmerized with her public façade of purity and innocence. She was well-mannered, intelligent, and knew exactly how to captivate people’s hearts.
However, beneath that serene exterior hid a vicious, stone-cold heart!
Scarlett was haunted by Celeste's past actions. How Celeste had forced their parents and brothers into bankruptcy, pushing them to the edge, leading to their suicides.
Celeste had once confined her in the basement, torturing her until she hovered somewhere between life and death. She even forced her to consume her own unborn child, cooked into a grotesque soup! Her death was filled with hatred and despair, her body poisoned and dismembered, her soul unable to find peace.
Celeste was the vile puppeteer who devastated her household, and the vile root of all her sufferings was that she couldn't bear to face the endless cycle of transmigration. Anguish and fury, ceaseless and fervent, empowered her every move.
Fortunately, fate took mercy on her, providing a chance to start anew. In her former life, on this fateful day, Celeste had succeeded in marrying Maximus Harrison, a mighty name in the world of business. As a stand-in daughter adopted by the Mitchell family, she climbed the crest of society's wealthiest, her status elevated overnight.
Maximus was a formidable man, his influence suffusing the city. His power was insurmountable. Celeste, by virtue of becoming his wife, bore his privileges and gained an invincible stature.
Utilizing this power, Celeste manipulated events that led to the Mitchells' bankruptcy, instigating her parents to commit suicide, and subjecting her to a gruesome death. But this time will be different. She swore to overthrow Celeste, the woman who embodied pure malice!
"Our war commences, Celeste!" announced Scarlett Mitchell, her hand resting gently on her three-month pregnant belly, a defiant smile playing on her lips.
Against all odds, the baby conceived was not from a rendezvous with a gigolo at a nightclub, but Maximus’s own. This was a fact unbeknownst to everyone and was confided by Celeste herself right before Scarlett's untimely demise. The man she slept with on that dull, blurry night was not some gigolo, but Maximus himself!
She was drugged by Celeste three months ago, blurring her senses, leading her to spend the night with a man. Mistaking him for a gigolo from the nightclub, she handed him a jade pendant intended for Celeste.
Unexpectedly, Celeste manages to steal her identity and successfully marry Maximus. Now, understanding Maximus's reason for marrying Celeste, she knew all she had to do was to reveal the truth at the wedding, and Celeste’s grand plan of marrying into wealth would crumble!
With this epiphany, Scarlett stole a glance at her clock, and with newfound determination, propelled herself to her feet. Cradling her pregnant belly, she ventured onto the balcony, assessed the drop from her lofty imprisonment to the freedom of the ground below. Her lips murmured in a silent pledge, "Stay calm, baby. Mama’s here to keep you safe. "
With that vow, she clutched her rounded belly with one hand, the balcony railing with the other, and without further ado, took a daring leap…
Her thudding landing sent ripples of alarm through the servants of the Mitchell family." Disaster! The eldest Miss had leaped out! The Master and the Madam had forbidden her to leave her chambers. We must hurry!"
Unfortunately for the startled staff, before they had time to react, Scarlett had dashed out a Porsche from the garage, tearing through the Mitchell mansion’s entrance. Deserted and bewildered, the staff could catch only a fleeting glimpse of her radiant profile before she was swallowed by the world outside, leaving behind a touch of audacity lingering in the air.
Meanwhile, the greatest matrimonial ceremony was taking place in the city's most deluxe hotel.
Indulged in a sea of plush red roses, the venue was bathed in rosy warmth, the color of love saturating every c***k and edge. Taking center stage, the MC's crisp voice coursed through the packed hall, painting the proceedings of the auspicious event.
Donning an ethereal white satin gown, Celeste stood hand-in-hand with the dapper Maximus, clad in a sharp black ensemble. The pair posed a sight so divine they held the entire hall captive. Celeste's gaze was transfixed on the man next to her, their energy a blend of pure ecstasy.
Caught amidst a pool of light, Maximus, in a luxurious custom-made suit, stood with practiced elegance, his authoritative profile a blend of discernment and austerity, an epitome of untamed sophistication.
Hidden beneath a luxuriant veil of fine black hair lay a face so delicately chiseled, it seemed an offering to aesthetic perfection. His enigmatic eyes, brooding amidst the chiseled contours of his face-the high, imposing nose, features sharp enough to define the horizon. Each element of his exuded an unchallenged air of defiance. Meet Maximus Harrison - eldest bloodline of the Harrison clan, a man so influential, his slightest impulse would render the world trembling to its core!
This monumental personification of perfection, henceforth, was to be intertwined with her, Celeste's life. His very presence was her hope to break free from the confines of her jading existence in the Mitchell family, to evolve into an entity that compels admiration! Assuming the revered title of Mrs. Harrison would empower her, bringing Scarlett and the Mitchell lineage to their knees would be as effortless as crushing ants!
A scorn smirk played on her lips. Who would have imagined that the very Mitchells who had looked after her all those years, treating her as their own, introduced their doom by bringing back Scarlett into their world.
From the moment Scarlett barged into their lives, she usurped everything that was rightfully hers-the affection of their father, the warmth of their mother, and even the undisputed primacy as the family’s star child.
She wouldn't have it. She would not! The depths of hatred for Scarlett knew no boundaries, leading her to exert all her might to tarnish Scarlett's image, ensuring her downfall from their grace! Simultaneously, the resentment towards Ronald and Patricia Mitchell. Why did they compel them to reintegrate with the licentious Scarlett? If she couldn't lay her hands on it, she would obliterate it, ensuring none else laid their hands on it either. She was hell-bent on bringing the Mitchell lineage to its painful demise! Concerning Scarlett, the naive imbecile, she vowed to torment her to the point where living would seem a punishment. She would gouge out the child borne to Maximus, force it down Scarlett's throat!
She was bent on tormenting her past to the brink of death, haunting her eternally! At this moment of poignant silence, the MC asked, "Miss Celeste, are you ready to commit your life to the man standing beside you, pledge to endure sickness and in health, poverty and wealth, to remain steadfast by his side until death makes you apart?"
Nudging aside her malevolent contemplations, Celeste was swift to declare, "I do!"
The MC returned her affirmation with a warm smile before turning towards the embodiment of impeccable charm and high-breeding Maximus. " Mr. Maximus Harrison, are you prepared to commit your life to the woman standing beside you, to persevere in sickness and in health, poverty and in wealth, and to remain unyielding by her side until death takes you apart? "
Celeste's heart pounded, anticipation gleaming in her eyes as she waited for Maximus's proclamation. She yearned for him to say those words "I do", which was all it would take for her to metamorphose into the revered and much-envied Mrs. Harrison – the thought itself was elating!
Before hundreds of guests holding their breath in anticipation,Maximus, his gaze unwavering on Celeste, opened his lips to say, "I..." Just then - an abrupt commotion filled the silence! With a deafening creak, the chapel doors swung open with a force that shook the audience.
A commandsome voice echoed through the room, ringing with defiance - "I object!"
- Writer
